General

In the entry, “Was ist Realität?” (“What is reality?”) in Zeit Wissen — which I referred to in my last post — Ulrich Schnabel begins with a sentence consisting of scrambled words, which, when unscrambled (something one does intuitively, automatically), makes sense, even if in their scrambled state they do (or should) not. For instance: […]

Yeah. Let’s jump on the bandwagon folks. Boo Luke. Show the doos what for! Jeer him like he stole overexcitement from Noeleen. After all, nothing else can achieve the desired effect. Which, if I think things through correctly, must be for the Stormers to play their Super 14 matches to a season-long chorus of boos. […]

What I expected to be an ordinary interview as a volunteer for SA’s FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 turned into a mouthwatering drink from a cultural melting pot – yes, the one that makes South Africans the unique bunch they are. Our anticipated visitor will experience a new level of humanity (or lack thereof) and interesting […]

I met Noel Robb at a momentous time, for the country and myself. I had just decided to give up practice as a lawyer, and become what was known as the National Legislation Monitor at the Black Sash. I was not entirely sure what the job entailed, but reposed great confidence in a small group […]

Jew-baiters have long invoked Nazism and the Holocaust as a way of getting up Jewish noses. This usually takes such trite and puerile forms as “Hitler should have finished the job” taunts or making mock “Heil Hitler!” salutes, but it generally hits the target. Indeed, Jewish sensitivities in this area are so pronounced as to […]

I see Moammar Gadaffi, the leader of Libya, has weighed in with an op-ed piece on the raging Israeli-Palestinian crisis and you can read it in full here. In it he argues for a one-state solution — “Isratine” — which he argues, “would allow the people in each party to feel that they live in […]

1. Stormers vs Saracens The Stormers ran in six tries in their 43-33 win over the English tourists Saracens in the international friendly clash at a sweltering Newlands on Sunday afternoon. 26 000 spectators turned out to watch the nine tries. Scorers: Stormers: Tries: Sireli Naqelevuki (2), Gcobani Bobo, Schalk Brits, Luke Watson, Joe Pietersen. […]

I used to fight a lot with the South African expats I encountered online. I hated their obsession with bad news; I hated their self-righteousness, their thinly veiled racism and “told you so” attitudes. Once I wrote a piece on expats for the Sunday Times which found its way onto most of the expat forums […]

The international focus on South Africa’s preparations for the 2010 World Cup usually intensifies with major events – like the 2010 Preliminary Draw and the Olympic Games – or with key dates. And so it is with January 26, which marks the 500-day countdown to the start of the quadrennial showpiece of international football. It […]

When you border on extreme corpulence as I do, and happen to live and work in the most Godforsakenly humid environment outside the paedophile section of Hades, you and the water station tend to become very close mates. This is especially true when the air-conditioning is always kindly set to imitate the natural conditions outside. […]